Showing 1 - 10 of 12
The gist of Thai politics over 20 years
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 20/02/2026
» Thailand's democratic institutions have been repressed and kept weak to the point that confusion still prevails almost two weeks after the Feb 8 election, which purportedly showed a clear victory for the ruling Bhumjaithai (BJT) Party under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. On the one hand, Mr Anutin and BJT stalwarts are busy forming a coalition government with other parties. On the other hand, fraud allegations from civil society groups and the opposition People's Party have reached a critical mass with the plausibility that the recent vote might be nullified to pave the way for a new poll.
Srettha confronts myriad of challenges
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/09/2023
» As the coalition government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin gets going, it faces multiple daunting challenges, from public expectations and policy deliverables to the maintenance of political stability.
The geopolitics of China's CPTPP move
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/12/2021
» Nowhere is the intersection between geopolitics and geoeconomics more evident than the accession negotiations under the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). At issue are three new applications for accession by the United Kingdom, China, and Taiwan. While the UK's candidacy alters the geographic crux of what has been Asia-Pacific trade liberalisation, China's and Taiwan's entry efforts represent a proxy showdown between the United States-led global order and 75-year-old alliance system versus Beijing's geostrategic ambitions and objectives.
Thailand's holding pattern till next poll
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 10/09/2021
» Thailand's recent no-confidence debate in parliament started with a bang and ended with a whimper. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and five other cabinet members who were grilled by opposition MPs for pandemic mishandling, budget irregularities and overall mismanagement and incompetence sailed through the parliamentary vote based on the coalition government's strength in MP numbers rather than the merits of its governance.
Thailand's jab fiasco needs an inquiry
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/07/2021
» Thailand's vaccine rollout is evidently a complete shambles due to questionable procurement, supply shortage, and misallocation amid a deadly surge of the Covid-19 "Delta" variant. The situation has been going from bad to worse with no end in sight as a poorly conceived strategy unfolds into a national calamity. As public anger mounts with fast-spreading calls for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's ouster, the Covid-19 pandemic is becoming Thailand's political game-changer more than anyone could have anticipated.
Is there a jab cover-up in Thailand?
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/07/2021
» It has become common knowledge that Thailand's national vaccine plan is inadequate, full of loopholes, flip-flopping and even worse, and might not be enough to deal with the fluid threat and devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic effectively. But vaccine mismanagement no longer appears to be the root cause of Thailand's Covid-19 trials and tribulations.
Prayut government seems bullet-proof
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/05/2021
» The passage of time shows the government's growing lack of accountability. In fact, the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appears the most unaccountable on record because it has been the most incompetent. Myriad charges from policy mismanagement and blatant irregularities to outright constitutional violations have been levied against the government but none have stuck. Although some attribute this phenomenon to Gen Prayut's "Teflon" qualities, a more accurate understanding may well be that his cabinet is somehow bullet-proof. Charges can stick but they cannot penetrate.
Regional vaccine approach is imperative
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 14/05/2021
» As vaccine diplomacy thrives and vaccine nationalism rears its head, it has become clear that the ideal global solution to the collective action problem of the coronavirus pandemic is for all countries to put their eggs in the same basket. If all countries are forced to rely on the global vaccine alliances' and the World Health Organization's Covid-19 Global Vaccines Access (Covax) plan, whereby any vaccine for one means an available antidote for all, the post-pandemic recovery would arrive faster and smoother with more promising prospects. But short of the ideal solution, the global health system is largely based on self-help, each country mapping its own plan for recovery with a mix of procurement strategies.
Thailand's murky jab considerations
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/01/2021
» Thailand is off to an unpromising start in 2021. As the global coronavirus pandemic rolls into its second year, much of the country is gripped by a new wave of Covid-19 infections after nearly nine months of minimal cases. As case numbers have more than doubled in recent days, the fresh wave has revealed the gross incompetence and corruption among Thai authorities. More alarmingly, while other countries are seeing light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel with expanding vaccination, Thai people's vaccine accessibility and affordability appear murky.
Misguided myopia of asking the rich
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/04/2020
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's initiative to seek more cooperation and assistance from Thailand's 20 wealthiest billionaires is understandable. Thailand needs all the help it can get to handle and manage the social and economic ravages of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. But making an appeal in writing from the top to the country's richest is short-sighted and misguided on many levels. It displays a government at the end of its tether and a leader who is being forced to own up to mismanaging the country for the past six years.